Tag Archives: Coral Gardens

More snorkeling

ParrotfishWe were going to try the North Shore, but Pam read too many scary stories, so we headed back to Smith’s Reef. The water was super calm, almost glassy, so we thought we’d have a great snorkel. And we did, but wow, there was a current so strong, if you stopped swimming against it, you’d be moved twenty to thirty feet in mere seconds! Not for the poor swimmer that’s for sure!

It was a lot of fun, but a lot of work too. We immediately saw a turtle, and we knew he was different than the last turtles we’d seen, because he had a tag on only one flipper. Yesterday the two turtles we saw had none, and two tags respectively. This was a smaller turtle and all he did was hang around the bottom, eating sea grass.

Grouper It’s a great spot to see fish, and we saw tons. One grouper was nestled in a little hole, and just watched us warily as we approached as close as eighteen inches. So long as we didn’t make any quick moves, he let us snap pictures. Pam loves this fish – and we’ve seen a lot of them here in Providenciales.

We got a bit tired fighting the current, so we only stayed in for a couple of hours. After a quick lunch, of left over pizza, courtesy of Baci’s, we went back the Coral Gardens. The current was sharp there too, but we went in anyway. And what a swim that was! Within about two minutes of being in the water I saw a little stingray, about three feet across, with a short tail – I guess from some predator biting it off.

The reef was just alive with fish, and lots of HUGE schools of horse-eyed jacks. We thought we’d seen a big school the other day, but wow, this one was twice that size. There was a big school barracuda, mostly under two feet, but there were a couple larger ones. There was a school of ceros, a kind of racing car like fish, speedy and sleek.

Lionfish We saw a couple of moray eels. We hadn’t really seen any, and today we saw two. We also saw two flounder, after not having seen any the whole week. Funny how that goes – see none, then get them in pairs!

We managed to spot a lionfish, out in the open mostly, and we managed to get a couple of good shots of him. That’s a first – usually the lionfish is under a shelf, hiding, and our pictures are not good. This one, is pretty good!

Cubera snapperI saw a big stingray laying in the sand and called Pam over to see him. She took one look at him and turned away, and I’m calling her – Do you SEE this HUGE stingray?? And she just points… under a shelf was the biggest fish we’ve ever seen. About six feet long, and weighing about four hundred pounds was a HUGE Cubera Snapper. Unfortunately, our pictures are dark and unclear, since he refused to come out from under the shelf. But holy cow, that was one big fish!

Cubera, faceWe had dinner at the Tiki Hut. It was so packed for the Wednesday night dinner deal, we went to Baci’s, but we decided to give them a whirl tonight. The setting is nice, on the water, surrounded by big boats. It was a little breezy, so a light sweater might have been a good idea. The waitress, Raissa, was friendly and efficient. We ordered some conch fritters to start ($8.00). They were served with a tangy sauce and Pam pronounced them better than the ones we had at Shark Bites.

Pam's big catch The Tiki Hut is famous for BBQ ribs and chicken, so Pam ordered the ribs ($18). They were a full rack, served with your choice of sides, and she chose onion rings and vegetables. They were fall off the bone good, and much better than the Shark Bite ribs. I had the West Indie Chicken ($21) which was a boneless breast of chicken pounded thin, then stuffed with tiger prawns, served with a rum cream sauce, fresh vegetables, and rice and peas. The vegetables were broccoli and carrots and they were cooked very well – not mushy and gross, but just perfectly done. The chicken was great. I’d order it again. For desert we ordered the bread pudding with vanilla ice cream ($8). It was a disappointment. It was not bread pudding, just some boring muffin with some store bought ice cream. Don’t order it. Total bill was $73, not including tip. A lot of places in the Caribbean put a service charge of 15%, but not here. It was a nice dinner, and I’d eat here again.

For some reason, there were fireworks when we returned to the condo. They were launched right beside our building, so we got a bird’s eye view! Not sure what it was all about, but a cool way to end the evening.

More at the Coral Gardens

ReefWhen we woke up this morning, the ocean was very calm, so we thought we should head back the Coral Gardens. We’d talked about how we wanted to see this place with calm waters, so off we went. It’s just a short drive to the Coral Gardens from our resort. The roads are really very good compared to most other Caribbean islands we’ve been on. It’s getting to be fun driving on the left side, although Pam keeps thinking we’re going to go in the ditch!

Unicorn Filefish The Gardens certainly didn’t disappoint. We saw a bunch of fish we’ve never seen before. Starting with one that Pam has wanted to see called the unicorn fish. They are a fair sized fish, and sort of look like small whales. They have a long “thing” that protrudes from their head, but can be laid down their spine. There was a little group of four that never really moved no matter how close we dove to them.

Grey angelfishAnother first was a grey angelfish. We’ve seen tons of angelfish on Aruba, but they are usually the French angel. This is the first grey we’ve seen and they act pretty much like a French Angel, just a slightly different color. They have bright yellow fins too.

LionfishWe saw three or four lionfish. Not that we want to! They are voracious predators and not native to the Caribbean. It’s speculated that they originated from Florida private aquariums, and they are classified as a disaster to the Caribbean reef system. They look terrific, but they devour the smaller reef fish.

Queen triggerfish We saw a gorgeous Queen Triggerfish, my personal fave fish. She was a beauty, hanging around and not taking off like they usually do. That’s one thing we’ve really noticed here – the fish seem to just not give a hoot that people are around. They just go about their fishly business and ignore us.

Sapodila bay beachWe took a drive down south to Sapodila Bay. It’s a lovely beach, virtually deserted. It’s extremely calm, and has a beautiful sandy bottom. It’s perfect for swimming. It’s very shallow and you have to walk out a long way before it even gets over your waist. One thing about the water here, is that it is much colder than other places we’ve been. It’s been a bit of a challenge getting in, but once you’re in, it’s nice. Sapodila Bay wasn’t much for snorkeling but a guy told us that over on the far point, there was a wreck, with lots of fish. Pam wasn’t up for the swim so I decided I’d go take a quick look. Well…. if you’ve ever had the hankering to swim with lots and lots of barracuda, do I have a place for you! There were so many there, dozens and dozens of them (and I’m not kidding – there were probably 40 or 50), ranging in size from two feet up to six feet, that I figured I’d just get out!

SunsetHere’s a sunset picture, taken off of our balcony. It’s been a great way to spend the end of a day… sitting on the deck and watching the sun go down. There are virtually no bugs, so no need for mosquito spray. Just sit back with a nice drink and watch the show! Hope you enjoy Joy!

I’m adding a movie to this post – it shows all the highlighted fish. The Queen triggerfish, the grey Angelfish, the unicorn filefish, and the yellowtail snapper. The yellowtail is kind of like the Sgt Major in Aruba – every time you turn around, there are a bunch of yellowtails trailing you around! They’re your posse!